It is known in the prior art to form and make available coreless rolls of toilet tissue, paper toweling and the like. Such products incorporate no inner core and are comprised wholly of a plurality of convolutions of the paper itself. A central opening is defined by the innermost roll convolution and the central opening can accommodate spindles and shafts to support the roll as it is dispensed by being unwound by a consumer.
Of course, if some means is not provided to prevent end-wise movement of the roll relative to the support spindle or shaft, the roll may be removed in its entirety simply by manually pulling it end-wise from the spindle or shaft.
One approach for preventing end-wise removal of a coreless roll from its support shaft is to position the roll and support shaft within the confines of a cabinet. Cabinets, however, add to the cost of the dispenser, may be inconvenient to service, and are not always appropriate for use. Mechanisms have been devised in the nature of barbed shafts or spindles which will resist end-wise removal of the roll product. While mechanisms of the type just described are effective for preventing end-wise removal of a coreless roll from the support shaft incorporating the barbs, the innermost convolutions of the coreless roll may be cut or substantially damaged by the mechanism. Furthermore, barbs will continue to resist end-wise movement of a coreless roll relative to the shaft incorporating the barbs until the very last convolutions of the roll product have been dispensed due to unwinding of the roll. This may not always be desirable, particularly in institutional settings where maintenance personnel may wish to remove a stub (substantially depleted) roll and replace it with a full roll.
A search directed to the present invention located the following United States patents: U.S. Pat. No. 5,100,075, issued Mar. 31, 1992, U.S. Pat. No. 4,984,915, issued Jan. 15, 1991, U.S. Pat. No. 4,905,923, issued Mar. 6, 1990, U.S. Pat. No. 3,656,699, issued Apr. 18, 1972, U.S. Pat. No. 2,632,605, issued Mar. 24, 1953, U.S. Pat. No. 2,562,923, issued Aug. 7, 1951, U.S. Pat. No. 3,477,362, issued Jul. 26, 1949, U.S. Pat. No. 2,380,644, issued Jul. 31, 1945, U.S. Pat. No. 1,817,897, issued Aug. 4, 1931, and U.S. Pat. No. 1,093,334, issued Apr. 14, 1914.
The above-identified patents do not address the problems discussed above and solved by the present invention.